The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 5

THE COURIER-JOURNAL, THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1989 B3 2k roil showing Kentucky support for bridge released SUGGESTED BRIDGE LOCATIONS OLDHAM --J-X COUNTY I II iZ 71 II I II -X. INDIANA jfjr jf si JEFFERSON rjZjr iks COUNTY 5 BRIDGE POLL WOULD THIS BRIDGE ALLEVIATE TRAFFIC CONGESTION? DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE THIS PROJECT? utmcu jwrooi wom sdutku xffersm mix Nouu count gorhib mm TOTAL whim comrnr comioor totu MUfO in 4a ia- too rotup in 4a ia- em Yes 97 83 79 86 I Yes 87 70 67 73 No 1 12 14 10 No 6 17 19 15 2 5 74 7 The poll included 175 residents in Southern Indiana, 425 in Jefferson County outside the bridge corridor and 125 more inside the corridor. The consultants defined the bridge corridor as the area bordered by the Ohio River, the Watterson Expressway, Interstate 71 and the Oldham County line. Overall, the poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points. The margin of error, plus or minus, was 4.8 percentage points among all Jefferson County residents, 7.4 percentage points for Southern Indiana residents and 8.8 percentage points for residents of the bridge corridor.

The study showed that transportation issues ranked fifth behind government services, jobs and the economy, crime, and taxes among the concerns of area residents. The exception was among residents of the bridge corridor, who ranked transportation second among their concerns. Better roads, airport expansion and traffic congestion topped the category. Only 45 percent of the general population had heard of the proposed bridge, but 74 percent of those in the bridge corridor were aware of it When asked if they thought the bridge would ease traffic congestion, 86 percent of the survey said yes, Including 79 percent in the corridor. The survey found that the Watterson Expressway is the local Interstate used the most by area drivers.

More than six out of ten licensed drivers said they used it at least once a week. About half use interstates 64 and 65 in a typical week, with 34 percent using the Snyder Freeway and 25 percent 1-71. Among those in the bridge corridor, however, 80 percent said they used 1-71 and 57 percent the Snyder Freeway. In Southern Indiana, 57 percent of the drivers said they use Interstate 265, compared with 16 percent of the general population. By DAVID GOETZ Staff Writer JEFFERSONVTLLE, Ind.

Seventy percent of Kentucky's Jefferson County residents approve of a new bridge over the Ohio River between Southern Indiana and the eastern part of the county, a poll released yesterday by the Chamber of Commerce of Southern Indiana showed. In addition, 67 percent of the residents in the eastern part of the county that would be affected most by the bridge an area the study calls the bridge corridor support it as well, the results said. Seventeen percent of county residents and 19 percent of those in the bridge corridor opposed the project with the balance undecided. Strong support for the bridge In Indiana's Clark and Floyd counties brought the overall totals for the Louisville metropolitan area to 73 percent In favor, 15 percent opposed and 12 percent undecided. Although the figures appear to show popular support for the project on the Kentucky side of the river, Southern Indiana chamber officials were careful to contain their enthusiasm.

"I don't want anyone to believe we are dictating a corridor for the bridge," said chamber president Greg Fitzloff. "What we want to do is open a dialogue with people in Louisville and Jefferson County." Chamber officials had withheld the poll from the public, fearing it would antagonize Jefferson County leaders who have not supported the bridge proposal. They released the results after Indiana Rep. Richard Wathen, R-Jeffersonville, a bridge booster, made some of the results public last week. The poll is just one step in an ongoing effort that will require cooperation from both sides of the river, said Mike Sodrel, chairman of the chamber's transportation committee.

Sodrel called for a corridor study to decide where the bridge should cross the river. 'All respondents were randomly sampled. The Bridge Corridor (the area of Jefferson County shown above) sample is also Included, and statistically weighted, in the Jefferson County survey sample. MARGIN OF ERROR 4 FOR TOTAL SOURCE: Wiheraon Aaoclalet ol Loutovite STAFF MAP BY WES KENDALL tion that airport expansion and local road projects have priority. Sloane said he was not surprised that the poll showed support for the bridge on the Kentucky side.

"People feel it would be nice to have a bridge to join the two areas," Sloane said. "The reality of the situation is something different" Sodrel said he saw some improvement in the reactions of the Jefferson County leadership. "Certainly there's no groundswell of support" he said. "But we don't read the opposition as solid as it was." The telephone poll, conducted last February and March by Wilkerson Associates of Louisville, asked 600 people their opinions on a variety of local-government issues, Including the bridge. Links with the Watterson Expressway, the Gene Snyder Freeway and Interstate 71 at the Oldham County line have been suggested.

Sodrel said he would like to see both states cooperate on the study. Jefferson County leaders gave the poll results a cool reception. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson hasn't seen the poll and would like to review it before commenting, spokeswoman Karolle Swanson said. "We have not been presented a rationale from the Indiana people to justify the use of our transportation dollars," Swanson said. "We simply have not been convinced how it's going to benefit Kentucky." Jefferson County Judge Executive Harvey Sloane said the bridge is "something we certainly ought to look into," but he repeated his posi- Coal miners stage 3-day 'memorial' for strikers Ruth Olney, an Arch spokeswoman in the company's St.

Louis headquarters, confirmed yesterday that the Lynch miners had taken the memorial days. Arch also has operations in Breathitt County in Eastern Kentucky, and in Muhlenberg and Ohio counties in Western Kentucky. None of those mines employ UMW members. Meanwhile, a stalemate persisted in contract talks between Pittston and union negotiators meeting in separate conference rooms in a hotel in Scott County, Va. Mediators are shuttling proposals back and forth between the rooms.

Information for this story was also gathered by The Associated Press. month, said Cecil Partin, a UMW international representative in Mid-dlesboro, Ky. On Tuesday, Partin said, Trumka notified the Arch local to take memorial days starting at midnight yesterday and ending at midnight tomorrow. The Arch mines were shut down for several weeks in the spring and early summer for the miners' traditional vacation and for an earlier memorial period. In addition, pensioners from the mines picketed for several days in the spring, calling for an increased contribution by Arch to the UMW health fund, which is running a deficit Active miners honored the pensioners' pickets.

ditional $4.5 million last week for acts of violence against coal trucks and replacement workers, and for using convoys to slow coal-truck traffic. As for the memorial days, Union spokesman John Duray said he believes the Arch mines in Lynch were the only ones affected. A provision of the national UMW agreement allows the union to take up to 10 memorial days during the contract period. The only requirement is that it notify the affected company. The UMW has ordered workers at many companies east of the Mississippi to use memorial days within the past four months in conjunction with the Pittston strike.

Arch employees took five memorial days last Continued from Page 1 lin uses Injunction to throw out Constitution." State troopers arrested more than 2,000 striking miners and supporters in sit-down demonstrations in the first two months of the strike. In the previous demonstrations, protesters sat in roads to block entrances to Pittston mines and processing plants in the southwestern Virginia coalfields. Those earlier demonstrations ended when Russell County Circuit Judge Donald McGlothlin fined the union $3 million for violating his strike restrictions. His injunction prohibited protesters from blocking coal-truck traffic. McGlothlin fined the union an ad REGIONAL ROUMDUP EDITED BY KIMBERLY THOMPSON State awarded mental-health grant FRANKFORT, Ky.

The nation's largest health-care philanthropy has awarded Kentucky a $100,000 grant for planning of mental-health services for children, the Cabinet for Human Resources announced yesterday. Kentucky was among 12 states awarded one-year planning grants by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of Princeton, N. J. Eight of the states will receive additional grants next year of up to $2.4 million each over four years to carry out their proposed programs, a cabinet news release said. Kentucky's project is aimed at keeping severely mentally ill children in their homes, or in settings less restrictive than hospitals or institutions, in 17 Central Kentucky counties, the release said.

Warren coroner resigns; son fills spot BOWLING GREEN, Ky. At the urging of his doctors, Warren County's coroner has resigned, but the position will stay in the family. Judge-Executive Basil Griffin has appointed Kevin Kirby to fill the unexpired term of his father, J. Kirby, 63, whose resignation became elective Tuesday. The elder Kirby, a funeral home director, said that after undergoing heart-bypass surgery last year, his doctors suggested that he work at a slower pace.

Kevin Kirby ran unopposed during the May primary to take over the coroner's job starting early next year but he took office early because of his father's resignation. Martin man indicted on murder charge INEZ, Ky. The Martin County grand jury has indicted a 23-year-old man on a murder charge following the weekend beating death of an elderly Blacklog resident, officials said. Curtis Step Jr. was indicted Tuesday on charges of murder and being a persistent felon.

The charges stem from Sunday's beating death of Jacob W. Cline 79, also known as Junior Cline. The man was found lying on the floor of his home about 9:45 a.m. Sunday. The grand jury also charged Stepp with being twice convicted of theft and said he was on parole.

Bail was set at $50,000 and arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 24. Ashland may get Guard armory WASHINGTON The House has included $2.4 million in the new federal budget for construction of an Army National Guard armory in Ashland. The structure is to be built on eight acres of land just outside Ashland in Boyd County and will house a training center. U.

S. Rep. Chris Perkins said Tuesday the building will be used to house guards during flooding in Eastern Kentucky. The project awaits Senate approval. Man files suit against Russell Springs BOWLING GREEN, Ky.

A Russell Springs man who says he was assaulted during an arrest has filed a federal lawsuit for $350,000 against the Russell Springs mayor, a police officer and the city of Russell Springs. Rodney Perry alleged that Officer Richard Dix assaulted him Aug. 15, 1988, when he came onto his property, placed a flashlight against his throat and dragged him backward to a parked car. Dix did not advise Perry of his rights or tell him he had violated a law, according to the lawsuit The lawsuit said the arrest caused him physical and emotional harm. Mayor Fred Tarter is named as a defendant because he is responsible for police officers' training and discipline, the lawsuit alleged.

The city is named because it failed to supervise, reprimand or adequately train the officer, the lawsuit added. Newport city manager to get new job NEWPORT, Ky. Newport City Manager Dennis Phelan is expected to be named town manager of Barrington, R.I., today, officials said. A selection committee chose Phelan from seven finalists drawn from 104 candidates, a spokeswoman said. The job calls for Phelan to begin on Sept 18 at $65,000 a year.

Newport Mayor Steve Goetz said yesterday that he will appoint a search committee for a new city manager once Phelan's departure is official. Phelan, who has been Newport manager since 1984, now makes $48,175 a year. Landfill would violate FAA standards WASHINGTON The Federal Aviation Administration said a proposed landfill near the Mount Sterling-Montgomery County Airport would violate FAA safety standards. The statement came in response to a request by U.S. Rep.

Larry Hopkins in June that the FAA investigate the proposal and determine whether it would meet the standards. "The Federal Aviation Administration is particularly concerned with the siting of any sanitary landfill adjacent to an airport due to the attraction of birds and the potential hazard to aircraft operations," the letter said. An FAA regulation says landfills are considered an incompatible use with airports if located within 10,000 feet of any runway used or planned to be used by turbojet aircraft. The airport has plans to accommodate turbojet aircraft Man convicted of arson gets new trial CINCINNATI A man convicted of the arson of a Covington nightclub has been granted a new trial because his witnesses were not allowed time to reach the court The 6th U. S.

Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ordered a new trial in U. S. District Court for Patrick Vilardo of Cincinnati. Defense lawyer Harry Hellings Jr. said Tuesday he had relied on the prosecution's assurance that it would take two days to present its case.

When it finished in one day, Vilardo's witnesses were not in court to testify. Vilardo was convicted in 1988 of conspiring to defraud an insurance company, destruction of a commercial building by fire, and use of the mail and a telephone as a part of fraud. He was sentenced to six years in prison and fined $30,000 for the June 24, 1985, fire at the Top Shelf Lounge In Covington. He is in federal prison at Ashland. Man charged in capture of ex-wife HARLAN, Ky.

A 22-year-old Ages man was charged with wanton endangerment and unlawful imprisonment after allegedly holding his former wife at gunpoint in her home for four hours, officials said. Ronnie Curtis 22, was armed with a handgun, police said. He is also charged with criminal trespassing and terroristic threatening. His former wife, identified by police as Wanda Gibson, 23, was freed just before 11:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday when Curtis surrendered to police.

His three children and Gibson's sister had been released unharmed earlier. Harlan Police Chief Vernon Howard said Gibson was treated for an injury she received when she was struck with a gun. State firefighters battle Oregon blazes LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) Six crews of firefighters from Kentucky have left for Oregon to fight out-of-control forest fires. The 120 Kentucky firefighters will join 42 other crews from the Southeast said Jerry Stephens, a firefighter with the Daniel Boone National Forest The five forest fires in Oregon, most set by lightning, have burned 80,000 acres.

Last year Kentucky firefighters helped put out fires in Wyoming, Northern California and Iowa. Compiled from Associated Press dispatches. Wilkinson, Jones to share podium at breakfast about Milburn's acting on her own she acknowledged on questioning by Stinson that before the July 20 meeting she had already invited Jones to speak. The committee approved no other speakers for the breakfast which has become popular and lengthy in recent years. U.S.

Rep. Carroll Hubbard of Mayfield will emcee the breakfast and had said before the meeting that he intended to allow all constitutional officers to speak, starting with the governor. That will be the case if there is time, a spokesman said yesterday. All constitutional officers have been invited to the breakfast. Wilkinson and Jones are "diametrically crossed, period." While Jones should be recognized, he said, "At the same time, you cannot put him on the level with the governor." That was, to some degree, the idea behind limiting Jones' speaking time and designating Wilkinson the keynote speaker.

But afterward, Woodrow Wilson Davis approached Stinson and told him that he was contemplating getting his money back for the breakfast and going to a function for U. S. Sen. Mitch McConnell instead. "To throw cold water in his (Wilkinson's) face like we have here tonight is an insult" he said.

There was also some question ceed themselves. The feud between Stinson and Milburn, also an early Wilkinson supporter, dates back to about the same time Milburn won the race for head of the committee and Stinson asked her to resign. He said yesterday he thought it would be proper for the governor's contact person and head of the local party to be the same person. He and Milburn have had a "tug of war" ever since, he said, and they were still tugging after the meeting Tuesday night with Stinson claiming he has the most direct route to the governor's office and Milburn detailing Sanson's attempts to run the committee. The committee and spectators had an intense, frank discussion about the issues involved.

"I cannot see how it's going to degrade the governor to have him (Jones) speak on the same program," argued Nathan Sholar, who was a John Y. Brown Jr. supporter in the 1987 gubernatorial primary. "We're talking about county politics here," said Graves County Judge-Executive Tony Smith, who made the motion for Jones to speak. Wilkinson has been good to Graves County, he said, and, "He's too good Continued from Page 1 County home Tuesday night "I certainly am pleased that they would extend the invitation, but would have understood if they were unable to extend it" He said he had made "absolutely" no effort to get an invitation to speak and was unaware of the meeting.

"I thought it was best to let nature take its course," he said. "I never thought it was anything of grave importance, no pun intended." The committee's vote turned a snub of Jones into what may be a unique opportunity for him. In response to a reporter's question, he said he could not recall another event at which he and Wilkinson have been the only speakers. "I would not anticipate my remarks' being worth the effort and conversation that apparently some have seen fit to attach to them, but I'm looking forward to being there." Jones said the emphasis at and near Fancy Farm this year should be the 1990 race for the U.S. Senate, "not on the lieutenant governor or who's going to run for governor in 91." Wilkinson and Jones have been at odds practically since they took office; Jones has made no bones about his interest in the governor's chair, which Wilkinson wants to keep.

The governor has been pushing for an amendment to the state constitution that would allow governors to suc Mv Crossword Puzzle a man to hold, in any way, a ham mer over our heads saying, 'If you let Brereton Jones speak at the breakfast we're going to drop it on But another Democrat spoke up from the audience, pointing out that Snyder sworn in as OSM chief the vacant slot of deputy director Want to exercise your mind? You can enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of taking on the Daily Crossword Monday through Saturday in The Courier-Journal. Look for it on the comics pages. for operations and technical serv ices. The other deputy position, which is responsible for administrative matters, was recently filled by Rob ert Faein. a career government em Continued from Page 1 for the agency a six-point list of general virtues beginning with "integrity and honesty in all that we do." While the speech was generally devoid of specifics, Snyder indicated he plans to keep the agency's current staff and structure.

He didn't mention Tipton during the speech but afterward confirmed speculation that the Kentucky chief will fill ployee formerly at the Bureau of Mines. While taking the oath, Snyder One Great Newspaper. placed his left hand on a Bible held by daughters Paige, 21, and Blake, 18, of Lexington. I.